Two Tyndale Books Selected as Outreach Resources of the Year

For immediate release:
March 6, 2009

Contact: Mavis Sanders
mavissanders@tyndale.com
630-784-5275

TWO TYNDALE BOOKS SELECTED AS OUTREACH RESOURCES OF THE YEAR
Mark Mittelberg’s Choosing Your Faith and Nancy Ortberg’s Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands Are Chosen for Magazine’s 6th Annual Outreach Resources of the Year

Carol Stream, IL — Outreach magazine has announced selections for their 6th Annual “Outreach Resources of the Year” report, including two books published by Tyndale House Publishers in 2008. The March/April issue of Outreach magazine featured Choosing Your Faith by Mark Mittelberg as a “Resource of the Year” in the Apologetics category, and Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands by Nancy Ortberg as a “Resource of the Year” in the Leadership category.

Nearly 140 books and other resources were nominated, and a panel of judges assisted in the final selection of 27 resources within nine categories.

In his comments about Choosing Your Faith , panelist Dr. Craig Hazen said, “Mark Mittelberg packages some wonderful teaching on traditional apologetics in a provocative and engaging manner . . . . A clever, well-written, and attractive book for believers and seekers.”

Mark Mittelberg is also the author of Building a Contagious Church and coauthor with Bill Hybels of the best seller Becoming a Contagious Christian . He was the evangelism director at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago for eight years and currently serves as the primary trainer for Luis Palau’s regional friendship evangelism seminars and as a regular speaker for CCN (Church Communication Network). Mark lives with his wife, Heidi, and their two children in Southern California.

“What I love about Mark Mittelberg is his uncanny ability to uncover the assumptions on which we all build our lives—without even knowing it!” said Jon Farrar, Tyndale Acquisitions Director. “When I initially read the manuscript for Choosing Your Faith , I thought of more than a dozen people who would enjoy this book—working moms, teachers, believers asking the reasons behind the Christian faith, and seekers. Choosing Your Faith shows us why it’s so essential to know the ‘whys’ and ‘whats’ of our beliefs.”

“Nancy Ortberg touches the exact spots where leaders hurt, struggle, and cry for help,” said panelist Dr. Gary McIntosh on his selection of Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership . “Her storytelling opens the reader’s eyes to fresh solutions for old problems.”

Nancy Ortberg served for eight years as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago where she led the Network ministry and developed Axis, the church’s program for the 18- to 20-something generation. Currently she provides church consulting services and speaks on the topics of community, leadership development, and organizational dynamics. Nancy is also the author of Looking for God (Tyndale, 2008) and lives with her husband, John, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Ortbergs have three children.

“Most great leaders are inherently out-of-the-box thinkers, yet very few leadership books are actually written that way,” noted Carol Traver, Tyndale Senior Acquisitions Editor. “That’s what makes Nancy Ortberg so unique. She writes the same way she leads—in a completely unexpected, totally unorthodox way that just naturally encourages people to think beyond the boundaries of typical, run-of-the-mill management styles.”

Tyndale House Publishers was founded in 1962 by Dr. Kenneth N. Taylor as a means of publishing The Living Bible . Tyndale House Publishers is substantially owned by Tyndale House Foundation. As a result, the company’s profits help underwrite the Foundation’s mission, which is to spread the Good News of Christ around the world. Now one of the premier publishing houses in the industry, Tyndale products include numerous New York Times best sellers, including the popular Left Behind series. Tyndale also publishes the Holy Bible , New Living Translation (NLT) and many other resources for church and family. Each NLT sale benefits the worldwide translation work of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Tyndale House is located in Carol Stream, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.
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